Launched in mid-2024 in a classy blue lacquered version to mark the British brand’s 50th anniversary, the SCM20ASL return in 2025 as part of ATC’s Classic Series.
Derived from the professional range model, the SCM20ASL are back in service in the hi-fi range, having been presented (and tested in our French VU#54) in a limited edition of 150 units a year earlier. They now reappear in a more classic wood cabinet, with finishes already familiar from other ATC Classic Series active loudspeakers from the SCM50ASL upwards.
Compared with the limited edition, the front panel loses its leather covering, which seemed to have a slight impact on wave diffusion, and the rear panel reverts to black rather than silver aluminium. As for the rest, the excellent 6“ mid-bass driver and 1” tweeter of the passive version remain, with frequency sensitivity adjustable via a rear knob. In the cabinet, these active units use the two Class A/B amplifiers of 200W (for mid/bass) and 50W (for treble), already tried and tested on the excellent pro version.
As a reminder, “active” is a different term from “wireless”, which always implies “connected”, i.e. with an internal streamer. An active speaker only has built-in amplification, so for it to work, it still needs to be connected to a source, and in this case, the SCM20ASL have a balanced analog XLR terminal on the rear panel.
Last year, the small number of limited-edition units available meant that we had to wait impatiently for this classic version, which we hope to listen to very soon to verify its sound quality. Prices have so far only been announced for the UK, at £6 495 per pair for a standard version, £7 295 for the premium versions and £7v845 for the black or white Piano editions, i.e. from £1 000 more than the pro version, but £4 000 less than the anniversary edition!
Previewed at the Axpona show in the USA, the Aspire is the new entry-level turntable from Polish turntable specialist J. Sikora.
For the first part of 2025, J. Sikora is launching a turntable below its Initial Line. The Delrin chassis remains unchanged from the higher series, but the speed controller is now integrated in the lower left-hand corner, and the rotary axis is re-centered in the middle, rather than shifted to the right.
Despite this, the Aspire seems to maintain a high level of stability, notably thanks to its substantial weight of 21 kg, but its design is more classic and less massive than the larger models. In keeping with this idea, the chainring is lowered, still on inverted ceramic ball bearings and powered by a belt on 33 or 45 rpm speeds. The arm seems also to have been simplified while retaining the brand’s cherished principles, for this new turntable to which a cartridge will have to be added, and for which the sales price is not yet official. We can’t wait to listen!
For the 4th time in almost twenty years, Linn is renewing its all-in-one Majik DSM, now in its 5th generation.
By incorporating a thumbwheel and losing the button bar at the top of the 2 mm aluminium chassis, the Majik DSM is closer to the more luxurious design of the superior Selekt range. A complete hi-fi device, it incorporates a completely revised phono card that can now read MC cells as well as MM. Its class D power of 100 watts per channel means it is compatible with a large number of loudspeakers, while its analogue inputs (2 RCA pairs) and sub and line outputs mean it can be connected to several sources as well as a subwoofer or an external power amplifier.
On the digital front, the Linn Majik DSM offers not only the most conventional (Toslink optical, S/PDIF coaxial) and modern (HDMI eArc, USB-C) inputs to the DAC, but also Linn Exakt connections and, for streaming, an RJ45 Ethernet input, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Compatible with standard formats and recent platforms, it is capable of decoding high-resolution files up to PCM 384kHz/24bits, to be listened to either through headphones via the front panel socket, or through loudspeakers via the two pairs of terminals on the rear panel.
The Majik DSM/5, which originated in Scotland and is presented there, is currently only priced in the UK, where it will sell for £4,300, a small increase on the price of the Majik DSM/4, sold in Europe for 4 050 €.
At Focal, launches are sometimes so close that we seem to have confused the information… Invited at the end of March simply to discover a new black color for the best-selling Bathys, and a week later to listen to the impressive Main Utopia professional speakers, we have yet to find the time in between to tell you about a very superior version of the French brand’s Bluetooth headphones!
Presented less than a week after the Bathys Deep Black, the Bathys MG lacks clarity in both its communication and its use of the “Bathys” name, because it’s actually a rather different version in terms of sound reproduction, closer in terms of technology to the Clear MG open-air headphones (1 500 €), than to its namesake Bathys without the “MG” ending (799 €).
On the menu, the expected codecs (SSBC, AAC, aptX™ Adaptive, aptX™) of a very high-end Bluetooth headphone (5.2 chip; Multipoint) are found on this closed nomadic model, which of course incorporates the current external noise cancellation (ANC) technologies and long battery life (30h) of the Bathys. But while the design remains similar to that of the Bathys, the newcomer in its brown-gold finish incorporates 40mm M-profile transducers made of pure magnesium, rather than those made of aluminium and magnesium alloy. Bass response is 5 Hz better and much more refined throughout the frequency range (10 Hz to 22 kHz).
Obviously, by using the same drivers as the Clear MG, the Bathys MG also comes close in price, as it is launched 500 € more expensive than the Bathys, at 1 199 € including VAT, a protective cover, a 1.2 m jack cable and a USB-C cable of the same length for recharging. So if you are looking for great sound, you have come to the right place!
A real new model rather than a simple « evolution » as its name would suggest, the Atalante 7 Évo is the new high-end loudspeaker from French manufacturer Revival Audio.
Weighing in at 54.6 kg excluding stands (12.5 kg each), the Atalante 7 is called Évo from the launch because it incorporates evolutions to its patented RASC drivers. In an even larger cabinet than that of the Atalante 5, still designed with the collaboration of the A+A Cooren studio, the 28 mm (1.15’’) Évo tweeter is combined with a new 75 mm (3’’) midrange driver; two soft-dome membranes energized by neodymium magnets, associated with ARID and ARID+ spider technologies.
The woofer is 3’’ larger than that of the Atalante 5, from 12” to 15” (380 mm), and is still based on patented BSC basalt sandwich technology, combined with a Bass Reflex system with event reinforced by aluminum flanges. The all-pass crossover uses air coils in a version specially revised for this new three-way, with internal wiring still connected point-to-point using Skyline cables from manufacturer Van den Hul.
With a sensitivity of 90 dB, the Atalante 7 Évo covers a wide frequency range from 23 Hz in the bass (5 Hz lower than the 5), and is launched in walnut and ebony finishes from 9 390 € per pair, including stands.
